The vocabulary activity provides example sentences from The Pearl that show each target word in context (e.g., sentences for covey, incandescence, subjugation). Students are directed to write their own sentence for each word and to "pay careful attention to the word's part of speech and use them correctly in your sentences," which draws attention to a word's position/function. The Student Activity Pages repeatedly present the word, its part of speech, a definition, and an in-text example sentence for students to read and model.

Students are asked to label noun phrases, verb phrases, and parts of speech in multiple sentences (Option 1 and Option 2), underlining noun/pronoun/noun phrases in black and verb/verb phrases in red and labeling individual words with parts-of-speech symbols. The activity directions and answer keys require students to identify a word's role (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) and to distinguish what is included in a verb phrase (verb + helping verbs, excluding adverbs). The prompt to explain what is and is not included in a verb phrase has students attend to a word's position and function in a sentence.

Students analyze Steinbeck's phrases such as "vagueness of a dream," "things of the imagination," and "more illusions than realities" and answer what effect those phrases have on the reader, requiring them to interpret phrase meaning in context. In the "Questions to Discuss" section students are asked to explain the meaning of the metaphor "the minds of people are as unsubstantial as the mirage of the gulf," which asks them to use surrounding text to clarify the phrase. Students also interpret the quote about pearls raising the King of Spain, drawing meaning from historical and textual context.

Question #1 asks students to describe what Steinbeck means by a simile that compares the town to a colonial animal, which requires students to use the sentence and surrounding context to explain meaning. Activity 3 asks students to locate and analyze stylistic devices (similes, metaphors, imagery) and to select phrases and sentences they find meaningful, which involves interpreting word and phrase meaning in context. The closing 'Things to Review' asks students to review vocabulary words from the story, implying attention to word meanings within the text.

Students are directed to underline verbal phrases in sentences and label how each phrase functions (noun, adjective, or adverb), which requires using the phrase's position and role in the sentence as a clue. A tip explicitly tells students to determine an infinitive phrase's function by asking what question the phrase answers (Who?/What?/Which?/When?/Where?/Why?/How?). Part II tasks have students analyze sentences from the chapter to identify and label verbal phrases in context.

Students are asked to identify and label appositive, prepositional, and verbal phrases in Activity 1 by underlining them and labeling how verbal phrases function in sentences. The Grammar Review chart defines phrase types and lists how they can function (noun, adjective, adverb), and students are instructed to review these definitions for the unit test. The parent plan also prompts students to explain vocabulary definitions or use vocabulary words correctly in a sentence.

Students are asked in Part A: Vocabulary to fill in missing vocabulary words in given sentences using a provided vocabulary bank (e.g., sentences with blanks for incandescent, consecrated, almsgiver, petulant, clamber). Part C: Grammar directs students to identify underlined phrases (infinitive, participial, gerund, appositive) and to state whether each functions as a noun, adjective, or adverb, which has students analyze a word/phrase's function in a sentence.

The Parent Plan lists the skill "Determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues," explicitly naming use of context as a target. The Vocabulary Picture Dictionary activity has students glue the sentence from the book with each target word and later "read the definitions and the sentence, and then see if you can guess the correct word," which asks students to consider the sentence as they match words and meanings. The Investigator task invites students to research the history and derivation of words or names, which could connect to word-meaning work.

Students are given a Word Box of vocabulary (belligerently, sated, protruding, profound, riveted, precarious, pariah, constrict) and asked to fill in three sentences using those words, which requires using sentence context to choose the correct word. Students are instructed to review vocabulary definitions and make sure they can use the words effectively in a sentence. The Student Activity Page and answer key show sentence-level items (e.g., "The toddler reacted ________ when she was asked to go to bed") that prompt students to determine meaning from surrounding words.

The lesson's Skills section explicitly tells students to "Determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues" and to "Clarify word meanings through the use of definition, example, restatement, or contrast." The vocabulary cube includes tasks such as "RECITE THE DEFINITION," "NAME THE PART OF SPEECH," and "USE CORRECTLY IN A SENTENCE," which prompt students to consider word meanings and grammatical function. Students are also assigned to read Chapter 1 of The Hobbit, where the target vocabulary appears in authentic text that could be used as context for meanings.

Students are asked to read Chapter 7 and answer Question #1, "What is a skin-changer?", which requires them to determine the meaning of that term from the chapter context. The lesson instructs students to review vocabulary words and the "Things to Know" section, which provides topical context about fantasy creatures that could support inferring word meanings. The summary and discussion prompts require students to explain events and character traits, which can involve using sentence or paragraph meaning to interpret terms.

Students are asked to edit sentences that contain commonly confused words (e.g., choose between "lightning" and "lightening" and between "heavyweight" and "heavy weight"), which requires using sentence meaning to select the correct form. Parent notes explain the semantic differences between these word pairs, guiding students to base choices on context. The plan also directs students to review vocabulary words and the "Things to Know" definition of consumerism, giving explicit word meanings for reference.

Students complete a vocabulary exercise (Part III) that asks them to "use the correct vocabulary word in the sentences from the book," requiring them to rely on sentence context to choose meanings. Students are also told to review and study the unit vocabulary and to use vocabulary words in sentences and matching activities, giving repeated practice seeing words in contextual sentences.

The lesson's Skills list explicitly states students will "Determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues." Activity 1 (Vocabulary Words in Context) directs students to read definitions and then insert the words to complete a paragraph, requiring students to fit words into sentence/paragraph context and adjust pluralization where needed. The Answer key shows words placed into a paragraph that requires students to use surrounding sentence meaning (e.g., identifying that a smell is "noxious" or a celebration is "tumultuous").

Students are asked to interpret Tree-ear's thought, "The work of a human, the work of nature; clay from the earth, a branch from the sky," which requires using surrounding context to explain the meaning of that phrase. Option 2 directs students to use information the author shares across Chapters 4–6 to list and sequence steps, requiring them to infer the meaning and role of actions described in different sentences and paragraphs. The sentence-correcting activity has students choose correct word forms (e.g., 'too' vs. 'to') though it focuses on grammar rather than contextual meaning.

Students are taught that a relative pronoun "begins a dependent clause and provides more information about a noun," which identifies the function and position of words in a sentence. In Exercise 1 students choose between who/that and that/which and insert commas, requiring them to use clause function and sentence meaning to select the correct pronoun. The explanations of restrictive vs. nonrestrictive clauses and the review question asking when to use which and that reinforce using a word's position and clause role to determine appropriate word choice. Option 2 asks students to write a paragraph including various pronouns, prompting them to consider pronoun function in context.

Students compare two articles and identify how word choice and tone portray Sir Sam Hughes differently, explicitly noting examples such as labels ("able," "incompetent"), statistical language, and headlines. Students are asked to list types of bias techniques and provide examples from the texts (e.g., "word choice and tone" and "bias through names and titles"). In Activity 3, students analyze advertisements for intended message and persuasive language, identifying propaganda techniques like card-stacking, bandwagon, and transfer, which requires attending to words and phrases in context.

Students are directed to locate each vocabulary word in the book and "read it in context" before matching the word to its definition (Activity 3). Students cut out vocabulary, motion, and definition boxes and create folded vocabulary strips that place the word and its definition together for review. The parent checks require students to act out motions and say the vocabulary words when prompted, reinforcing meaning through contextual reading and kinesthetic cues.

Students are asked to copy and correct sentences in Activity 1 (Sentence Editing), which requires choosing correct word forms in context. The Parent Plan note explicitly explains the difference between "shone" and "shined," telling parents that "shone" is correct for the example and that "shined" is preferred when the meaning is "polished" or when something is shining on something else, which links word choice to meaning and usage. Beyond Roots II asks students to study root cards and play games to build word knowledge, offering an alternate strategy for decoding word meaning.

Students read vocabulary words in contextual sentences and are instructed to use those context clues to determine meanings (Activity 2). Students complete a crossword that requires matching words to definitions based on the provided contextual sentences. The Parent Plan Skills explicitly lists "Determine the meaning of unfamiliar vocabulary words using context clues."

Students correct a paragraph that contains seven incorrect homophone usages (Part I), requiring them to use sentence meaning to choose between forms such as their/they're/there, its/it's, and whose/who's. The lesson explains the difference between contractions and possessives (it's vs its) and gives tips about checking apostrophes, which draws attention to a word's form and function in a sentence. In Part II students must compose sentences using homophone groups (its/it's, your/you're, there/their/they're), applying context to select the correct word.

Students are instructed on the "Spotting Errors" page to find and correct homophone errors by crossing out incorrect words and writing the correct forms adjacent to each sentence. The Spotting Errors activity explicitly asks students to focus on homophone errors along with verb tense and voice issues, which requires attending to words in sentence context. The "More Homophones" page asks students to write definitions, parts of speech, and to compose sentences demonstrating each word's usage, giving students practice placing words in context.

Students complete a Part I vocabulary section on the unit test that asks them to use the correct vocabulary word to fill in blanks in sentences, and the Unit Test answer key shows sentence-level contexts with the target words inserted. Activity 2 instructs students to "Review the vocabulary words," and the Think-Tac-Toe Story Cube requires students to use six Middle Ages–related vocabulary words to generate a creative story. The homophone cartoon and other writing tasks require students to place words in context through writing or illustration.

Students are directed to read the author's biography and answer a question about why the writer used the word "prestigious" repeatedly, which requires attention to the word's meaning in context. The lesson also provides an explicit definition: "Prestigious means having a strong reputation for greatness." The "Things to Review" and question prompts ask students to consider the word and its use in the biography.

Students read Chapters XXI–XXV of The Little Prince and answer QUESTION #1 asking, "What does it mean to be 'tamed' according to the little prince and the fox?," which requires them to infer the word's meaning from the characters' dialogue and actions. The reading-and-questions section asks for complete-sentence answers based on the text, prompting students to use passage context to explain that taming involves spending time and energy to form a bond. The activity prompts (e.g., reflecting on the fox's secret) also require students to interpret meaning from surrounding ideas in the chapters.

Students are directly instructed (Question #1) to "restate it in today's English and focus on the overall meaning" when they encounter confusing Shakespearean lines, which tells them to use sentence/paragraph meaning as a clue. The student activity pages provide side-by-side original and modern versions and ask students to use brackets to define or clarify underlined words, prompting students to compare surrounding text to decide definitions. The Parent Plan discussion notes features such as inverted sentences and archaic words, which students are asked to consider as sources of unfamiliar language.

Students read Act 2, Scene 2 to Act 3, Scene 2 using the right-hand side modern translation and are invited to look at the original left-hand side, allowing comparison between archaic wording and modern language. Students explore Shakespearean expressions and then create a poem or short story using at least four of those phrases. Students are prompted to "Review what an expression is," which foregrounds attention to meaning of fixed phrases.

Students are instructed while reading to note unfamiliar words (including page numbers) and the lesson supplies explicit definitions for several vocabulary items (eccentric, obstinate, hokum, feign, annus mirabilis). Students also practice identifying parts of speech and diagramming sentences (subjects, predicates, adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases), which directs attention to a word's position and function in a sentence.

Students are instructed to highlight or take notes on unfamiliar words as they read Chapter 21 and to monitor comprehension. The Things to Know section explicitly defines the word "ingenious," and the skills list asks students to identify and use infinitives and participles. Activity 1 teaches students to use a word's position or function in a sentence (for example, identifying how an infinitive or gerund functions and answers questions like "what" or "why").